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PAKISTAN: Young Christian's suspicious death sparks national outcry
By John Pontifex
A map of Pakistan
Bishops throughout Pakistan have written to the country’s president demanding a public inquiry after a young man died in suspicious circumstances while in police custody.
The young man was being held after an alleged love affair with a Muslim girl sparked extremist attacks on Christians.
The official memorandum signed by the Bishops’ Conferences of both the Catholic Church and the Church of Pakistan comes amid allegations that 19-year-old Robert Fanish was murdered while being detained at a jail in Sialkot district, Punjab province.
For the young man’s family, shock turned to anger yesterday (Tuesday, 15th September) when the body was released for burial covered in marks on his torso and arms, apparently showing that he had been severely beaten.
Reports claim that the marks are inconsistent with police claims that Mr Fanish hung himself. Post mortem results are due in a few days’ time.
The funeral in Sanbrial, a town in Sialkot, attracted more than 3,000 people, who mourned the loss of a Christian man whose three-year relationship with an 18-year-old Muslim woman ended in catastrophe.
Determined to put an end to the liaison which breaks social and religious taboos, the woman’s mother is accused of fabricating a claim that Mr Fanish had desecrated the Qu’ran, a crime punishable by life imprisonment, according to Article 295B of Pakistan’s Penal Code.
It is alleged that she complained to Muslim leaders and in response a mob of extremists burnt down the church in Jethki, the village in Sialkot where she and Mr Fanish lived. All the Christians in Jethki are said to have run for their lives.
Reports received by Aid to the Church in Need say Mr Fanish’s funeral yesterday developed into a protest about the circumstances of his death. Police had to use tear gas to disperse the crowds after tensions rose.
In response, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore, joined forces with his Protestant counterparts from the Church of Pakistan in drawing up an official memorandum requesting a ‘fair inquiry’ into Mr Fanish’s death.
The document has been sent to Pakistan President Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Gilani and Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister of the Punjab Province and brother of former Prime Minister Nawar Sharif.
Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need, Father Andrew Nisari, vicar general of Lahore Archdiocese, said: “Each one of us is furious about what happened to Robert.
“For us it is clear that the police have taken the law into their own hands and have killed him.”
Stressing that it was the fourth incident of its kind within three months – each involving violence against the Church prompted by a Blasphemy Law allegation – Father Nisari said Christians in Pakistan felt under ever-increasing strain.
He said: “The situation for us is getting worse and worse. There is a wave of unrest going around the country in which people are using any opportunity they can to put pressure on Christians.”
Father Nisari said that the demonstrations at Mr Fanish’s funeral coincided with a demonstration of 600 people in front of the Press Club in Lahore.
He added that the Catholic-run National Justice and Peace Commission, based in Lahore, had also called on the government to instigate a public inquiry into the death.
The NJPC is spearheading a national petition calling for the repeal of Pakistan’s controversial Blasphemy Laws, which are widely seen as subject to violent abuse and prejudicial against minorities.
Aid to the Church in Need has also called for action to abolish the Blasphemy Laws. The charity spoke out last month after nine people were killed in the Punjab city of Gojra, again in a spate of violence linked to the Blasphemy Law.
Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad in Pakistan will be Aid to the Church in Need’s guest of honour at Westminster Cathedral on Saturday, 17th October.
Find out more and buy tickets for Aid to the Church in Need’s Westminster Event